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Get closer to the this season by using Pulse while you watch the LIVE matches. Pulse asks you a range of questions relevant to the LIVE action as it unfolds. Your votes will be featured in the telecast in real-time and debated by the commentators, players and stars. If you've got a great question of your own, we'd love to hear it.

We can challenge any side: Sangakkara

DC skipper says his teammates need to believe in themselves in order to win

By IPL Staff

Chennai 03 May 2012

The Deccan Chargers are languishing at the bottom of the IPL 2012 points table with two wins in nine games. Both their victories have come recently, against the Pune Warriors India. Having found a bit of momentum, they now face the Chennai Super Kings in an away game.

Ahead of the all-important tie, DC skipper Kumar Sangakkara addressed a media conference, in which he spoke about various issues of his team at length. He also gave an insight into his own batting form and explained various captaincy decisions he took in the last few games.The contest against CSK

First, we have to realistically accept how good the Chennai Super Kings are with their batting, bowling and fielding. Then we have to believe that if we can play well – if we bowl and bat according to our plans and strategies, and more importantly, be a 100 percent on the field – we can challenge any side. T20 is such format, where if you play slightly better than the opposition on that day, when the match hangs in a balance, it’s the side that holds its nerve [that] walks away with the win.Cold performance by Indian players

Yes, it is very important the Indian players should take most of the pressure. In a side where you don’t quite have big India internationals, the overseas players should carry the team’s baton and the younger Indians play with freedom and enjoy game. They need to find their own place in the team and increase their self-belief. For that, we have to believe in them. In our side, we have some very good Indian players.

Lack of support for Dale Steyn

Unfortunately, we’re lacking Ishant Sharma who would’ve been a perfect partner for Steyn, Rusty Theron or whichever international player is playing on that day. But we knew that before the season started and we need to be realistic. Instead of talking about what we don’t have, we must believe in the players that we do have.

The decision to drop himself

I had a look at the wicket and it didn’t look [like] how it turned out eventually. Looking at it, we had to play an extra seamer. We couldn’t have dropped Cameron White as he had got a 70 in the last game. JP Duminy has been playing magnificently and Steyn has been superb. That left us with only one choice, and that was me sitting out. In the end, it was disappointing to lose because we were playing eight batsmen, three frontline seamers and a support seamer in Ashish Reddy.

Not enough time for JP Duminy to bat

That’s something that we’ve talked about and we’re trying to work out a situation where JP gets more time in the middle. Unfortunately, he got injured. Hopefully, he’ll be available for tomorrow’s game or for the one after that.

Personal batting form

After the last game [against PWI, when he scored 86] I can say I’m happy with my form. Before that, I was trying to do a bit too much and getting out. For me, the best way to bat is play straight and manoeuvre the ball such as the bowlers bowl bad balls to me. The longer I stay at the wicket, the more and the faster I score. I had lost that particular truism in my batting.Target for the Deccan Chargers

Realistically, we still do have a chance to get into the top four if we win almost every game. This IPL is very open and anything is still possible. The best thing about this team is that even though we’ve lost too many games, you won’t see guys bowing their heads and accepting defeats. We’ve always gone down fighting. The way we fought against Mumbai Indians defending 100 runs was unbelievable. As long as we keep up that fighting spirit, we can do well.Resting Steyn in a game

We rested him against PWI in Pune. In Juan Theron, we have one of the best T20 bowlers around, especially in the death overs. In T20 cricket, the last couple of overs cost teams a lot of games, like they did to us, against MI, RR, etc. Steyn is the guy for us, who runs in, bowls quick, he has the swing, seam; he’s the best bowler in the world. But there are some wickets on which, may be, someone like Theron is a better bet.

CSK's good enough to win it all: Bichel

Super Kings’ bowling coach says inclusion of Hussey and Hilfenhaus will make them stronger

By IPL Staff

Chennai 03 May 2012

They might not have looked the invincibles that they were during the past few seasons, but they’re still one of the most feared teams in IPL 2012. When the Chennai Super Kings take on the Deccan Chargers at home, they will definitely start off as favourites.

Ahead of their tie against DC, Andy Bichel, CSK’s bowling coach, spoke about his wards and said he was impressed with the improvement shown by most of them, especially when it comes to death bowling. He said the team has received a shot in the arm with the arrival of Mike Hussey and Ben Hilfenhaus, and that the team’s performance will improve.Excerpts from his pre-match media interaction:

Expectations from the defending champions

There are expectations and to reach this level you have to have tasted success. Winning three in a row will be setting some high standards in the IPL. We’re expected to win and improve with each game that we play. We’ve faced a few challenges along the way with our overseas players, but now they’re all here and we’ll get as much out of them as we can in the rest of the tournament.Performance of the bowling unit

If I look at the individual bowlers, I’ll say they’ve all improved in the last 12 months, and that’s a good thing. The challenge that we’ve faced is that the other teams have played us better than they did in the past. We’ve been hunted, and it’s a challenge for us to rise once again. Also, the fact that we’re a batting-heavy team makes it hard on the bowlers.Lack of a world-class Indian fast bowler

It’s always nice to have that one world-class Indian pacer. But having said that, our youngsters are developing. Even overall in the tournament, young Indian bowlers have done well. [Parvinder] Awana is a great pick. Umesh yadav has bowled well too. It would be nice to have someone who can bowl 140 kph – someone like Yadav.Improvement in death bowling

If you look at our statistics in death bowling this season, they’ve been second to none. That’s an area where we’ve made a big improvement as compared to the last few seasons. It’s all about the mindset. Some guys are doing pretty well in this tournament. I think [Dwayne] Bravo has taken to it pretty well. Albie Morkel is always improving. The challenge for us as the bowling group is [to] reach that level where MS [Dhoni] can just pick anyone in the group for the job and know that they’ll do it.

Will Sudeep Tyagi get a game?

The conditions in Chennai don’t allow too much seam bowling. When we go on the road, we could face some different conditions and then these guys can come to fray. The road ahead

We have a good enough team to win the tournament. For us, reaching the final will be the most difficult part. With Mike Hussey and Ben Hilfenhaus coming in, that will change a few things for us. Mike contributed to our success last year, and he’s back with us.